In recent years, the use of optical fibers has become increasingly widespread in a variety of applications. Optical fiber probes have been found to be especially useful for analyzing materials by employing various types of light-scattering spectroscopy.
Optical fibers offer numerous advantages over other types of source/detection equipment. In short, the fiber provides a light conduit so that the source-generating hardware and the recording apparatus are stationed independently of the subject under investigation and the point of analysis. Thus, analyses are conducted remotely in otherwise inaccessible locations. Previously unattainable information is acquired in situ, often in real time. This capability is sought in numerous industrial, environmental, and biomedical applications. The laboratory is moved on line in the industrial realm, to the field in the environmental sector, and in vivo in the biotechnical arena. Additionally, hardware and measurements are more robust, quicker, less intrusive, more rugged, less costly, and many other advantages are realized.